History of a Refined Brick & Brownstone Queen Anne

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rom detailed arial photographs of Hanover, two of the most prominent features of our property are the turrets just off Broadway. For that reason we've been told that the house is sometimes referred to, with good humor, as the "Madonna House." Although she is most certainly not a painted lady, we think she is a stately Queen with a lovely glow, warm character and striking features.

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n 1902 Tempeth Jacob Little (November 3, 1865  October 14, 1946)presented this brand new house to his wife Georgiana Anna Barbara (Bittinger) Little (June 29, 1866  August 17, 1936, and their three daughters; Helen, Grace and Mary. The Little's home was built from top to bottom with high quality brick, stone, brass railings, hardwood floors, and doors, extensive wainscoting, plaster walls, ceilings, and molding. In addition to the original stained glass windows, it featured a limestone fireplace with stone inlay in the grand foyer, a marble fireplace in the living room and several luxurious bathrooms made with marble and built-in porcelain fixtures. Mr. Little had a business just two blocks down the street on Hanover Square; it was a clothing/department store with his partner, Napoleon Bonaparte Carver. Around 1898, Tempeth sold his interests in the business to Carver, and started to finalize plans for his family's new house at 224 Broadway. The Littles made this house their home for about 22 years.

Photograph of Tempeth Little taken from his September 1915 campaign poster for county clerk

The picture above shows the Hanover Square in 1893. Mr. Melhorn's store is on the far left, on the corner of Carlisle Street. Mr. Little's store (Carver and Little) is on the far right of the picture, on the corner of Broadway. (Original glass negatives of the picture are in the Hanover Library)

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n 1924, another Hanover Square merchant, Augustus H. Melhorn and his wife Anna, bought the home from the Littles. Mr. Melhorn owned a store that sold liquor, drugs, groceries, and various general items to the public until he closed it in 1918. The Melhorns made some significant, enduring enhancements to the property. They added a sunroom that features stained glass windows on all three exterior walls, a porch, and a custom built-in wall fountain. They also added a large detached two-story brick "horseless" carriage house complete with an automobile wash station, a unique walk-through door within the overhead door, and a wood stove. Although it no longer has car wash capabilities, the carriage house can provide covered, off-street parking for our guests.

A fter making these significant improvements to the property, the Melhorns only lived in the house for about four years. Around 1928, the home was sold to Albert F. Rees. Mr. Rees owned a plant for processing hides and tallow on Center Street. The home remained in the Rees family for about 27 years.

Around 1955, the home was sold to Dr. Burnell Grim and his wife Loretta. Dr. Grim was a prominent veterinarian in Hanover, and owned the Hanover Veterinary Hospital a block down the street. With 12 children and both sets of grandparents living with them, the Grims used every square foot of space in the house. The Grims and many of their children still reside in the Hanover area, and it is such a pleasure to meet them and hear their wonderful stories of growing up in the house. For example, we have learned that due to all of the foot traffic through the yard, the good doctor had to give up on much of his lawn and decided to turn the entire back yard into one large green concrete playground for his children, and their many neighborhood friends. We often meet Hanover natives who still refer to the house as the "Grim House" and they recall having played here as children or accompanying "Doc Grim" on his farm house calls to treat area livestock. Everyone has such good memories to share of the 20 years this large, remarkable family lived here.

Since the time of the Grim family, five other families have made 224 Broadway their home, each adding their own unique styles and renovations.

In February 2005, we purchased the property. We feel very fortunate to be the new stewards of 224 Broadway, and to have the opportunity to transform this beautiful, historic property into the Shining Dawn Bed & Breakfast Retreat. In our renovations and remodeling, we have strived to preserve the architectural integrity as well as the warm "home and hearth" feel that has endured for generations here by employing quality materials, attention to detail, TLC, and a lot of help from highly skilled local professionals and craftsmen.